Man charged in teen's bat-beating death ordered held in lieu of bail

Police say 23-year-old walked up behind Vaughn and struck him twice

April 09, 2008|By Azam Ahmed, TRIBUNE REPORTER

A man accused of beating a teen to death with a baseball bat was ordered held in lieu of $1.5 million bail Tuesday, despite his attorney's assertion that the 23-year-old had feared for his life after the victim broke his cousin's jaw.

The altercation that resulted in Albert Vaughn's death after a South Side party Saturday night began with a quarrel between relatives of Vaughn and Nathaniel Tucker, who is charged in Vaughn's murder, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Vaughn, whom the defense alleges was a masterful fighter, allegedly struck Tucker's cousin, prompting people aligned with both men to argue with one another, Assistant State's Atty Mary Anna Planey said.

When police arrived at the party in the 7000 block of South Throop Street, they saw Vaughn and one of his brothers carrying sticks with nails protruding from them. Police ordered them to drop the sticks and they complied.

Witnesses said Tucker, holding an aluminum baseball bat, then approached Vaughn from behind. According to court records, Tucker struck Vaughn on the left side of the head, after which Vaughn fell to the ground motionless. Tucker then lifted the bat over his head and struck Vaughn once more, prosecutors alleged. Vaughn died about an hour after the attack, authorities said.

Police chased Tucker as he fled into a building about a block away and found him hiding under several blankets, prosecutors said. The aluminum bat was recovered behind the front door, court documents show.

Tucker's attorney, Tony Eben, said Vaughn and his friends were the aggressors in the altercation and Vaughn already had knocked out one person with a punch and armed himself with a board with protruding nails. He said if Tucker did strike Vaughn with a bat, it was in self-defense.

Tucker was identified as the offender by several police officers and paramedics at the scene and in lineups by two individuals who were involved in the Saturday night fight, prosecutors said. Tucker is on parole for a 2005 conviction for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison in that case. His parole was scheduled to end in June 2009, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. He has two other felony convictions on his record.

Vaughn, a student at Julian High School, was the 23rd Chicago Public Schools student slain this school year. He also is the second student from Julian killed in the last year. Blair Holt, 16, was gunned down last May.